How to Make a Cotbed Quilt for Beginners, Step 9: Binding Your Quilt

Before we tackle our binding fabric it is time to tidy up the quilt. Using your ruler, cutting mat and rotary cutter carefully remove all the excess batting and backing fabric from your quilt.

Next cut your binding strips. You will need four strips measuring 2.5″ wide and the length will be approximately 42″, or whatever the width of the fabric you ordered.

Trim the selvage edges of each strip.

Now take two of your strips, place right sides together and align one edge. Pin and then bring this to your machine and sew, again allowing a 1/4″ seam allowance by aligning with the edge of your presser foot. It is important now to try and match your thread colour to your fabric colour.

Repeat at the opposite end with the next strip and continue until you have sewn all four pieces together into one long strip.

Press seams open then fold strip in half lengthways, right sides facing outwards, and press right along the entire length of your binding.

Next bring the raw edges in line with the raw edge of THE BACK your quilt beginning approximately half way along one of your edges. It doesn’t matter which edge just don’t start at a corner. Pin every few inches.

When you get to a corner fold your strip upwards at a 45° angle, then unfold and place a pin at the corner, again along a 45° angle, along the crease that you just made. Then fold upwards again over the pin and insert another pin at the same angle. Fold downwards now, with your binding strip now in line with next edge of your quilt and place a third and final pin at the same corner again at the same angle.

You should now have a kind of triangle shape pointing up between the pins as shown.

Continue to pin around edges and corners as shown.

When you get back near to the start fold both edges backwards so that the ends of the strips meet up and press flat.

Pin together and then bring to your machine and sew together matching up the creases.

Then trim down to approx 1/4″ from seam and press fabric open and flat. Eventually we will sew straight over this as shown in (6.) above.

Now your complete binding is pinned and ready to sew!

Halfway along one edge align the edge of your quilt with the edge of your presser foot and begin to sew.

When approaching the corner sew right up next to your pin, holding the triangle back out of the way, stopping at the pin, approximately 1/4″ inch from the edge of the quilt. Backstitch a little and stop here, cutting your thread.

Remove this pin, fold your triangle down now so that strip lies flat along the next side of your quilt. Pin down. Remove remaining two pins.

Now spin your quilt around and begin sewing the next side of your quilt starting at 1/4″ from the edge, again remembering to backstitch a little at the start.

Continue until the whole of your binding has been sewn to the back of your quilt.

At this stage it is a good idea to press your binding open before beginning to hand-finish your quilt.

Fold your binding over to the front side of your quilt, making sure that you cover your machine stitching, pin and hand-sew into place using an invisible stitch. You may need to trim away stray threads and fraying edges as you go.

When you get to the corners you should find with just a little bit of manipulation that it folds into a nice, neat mitred corner as shown.

Continue until your binding is fully sewn into place and….

VOILA!

Congratulations! You have finished your quilt!

Please do let me know how you got on. I would love to know.

Well done folks!

Time to start planning the next one….

(I am just finishing off the last bit of binding on mine and will add pics here as soon as it is done. It had better be soon as my neighbour’s baby is due in four days!)

Comments

I am a bit more than a beginner but want to be able to teach a little class to some friends and your instructions are great. You are very clear and the pictures are very good as well. Thank you so much.

Great instructions! I just finished two quilt tops the pinwheel pattern and was wondering how you would recommend quilting. One is for a single bed and the other is for double bed. I wish I knew how to send a picture to you. Carolyn

having just purchased a machine, some materials and cutting tools, I am eager to get on with my very first quilt. I have searched the net for beginners tips etc and find yours so easy to follow and am going to now have a go. thank you so much for this. its been a great inspiration. 🙂

well having never attempted making a quilt before I read through all of your instructions, most helpful, wish me luck as ill be starting this on Monday. hope its as easy as you’ve made it look.
aileen x